Fabric dye beck having a liquid fabric barrier



Jaim., EL A967 W, E MASON ETAL, 3,301,026

FABRIC DYE BECK HAVING A LIQUID FABRIC BARRIER Filed Nov. 24, 1964 I5Sheets-Sheet l y Z 5 1 i v l M Z Jaim. 3l, 1967 W, E MASON ETAL3,301,026

FABRIC DYE BECK HAVING A LIQUID FABRIC BARRIER Filed NOV- 24, 1964 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Hmm 3L 967 W, E, MASON ETAL 3,301,026

FABRIC DYE BECK HAVING A LIQUID FABRIC BARRIER Filed NOV. 24, 1964 v 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Z9 United States Patent O M 3,301,026 FABRIC DYE BECKHAVING A LIQUID FABRIC BARRIER Walter E. Mason, Clayton, Ga., and .lohnMcNutt, Lexington, Va., assignors to Burlington Industries, Inc.,

Greensboro, FLC., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 24, 1964, Ser.No. 413,507

12 Claims. (Cl. 68-177) This invention relates to dye becks and moreparticularly to improvements in the type of dye beck used in piecedyeing lengths of pile fabric such las soft floor coverings.

The fabrics that are piece dyed in large dye becks or kettles may beeither woven, tufted or knitted. The ability to produce substantialquantities of pile fabric in the greige and then dye given quantities inaccordance with style demands has been the cause for the widespreadmanufacture of stufferless Wilton and velvet woven carpeting, usually ofa one-shot construction, which is piece dyed and then secured to asecondary backing material by means of suitable adhesives. This changein the wellknown and long standing method of producing woven carpetinghas in part been the result of procedures in the tufted carpet industrywhich today :almost without excep tion apply a secondary backing to theprimary fabric through which the pile yarns are tufted in order toinsure sufficient dimensional stability and adequate strength forhandling and installation. `Consequently the trend towards piece dyedfabrics as distinguished from skein or stock dyed goods has introduceddyeing problems because these fabrics in the greige are made withconstantly decreasing specific gravity. Unless the fabric can bemaintained -beneath the dye liquor in the dye beck during the immersionportion of the cycle, nonlevel dyeing occurs. The use of syntheticmaterials in the fabrics either as pile yarn or :as primary backing hasso decreased the specific gravity of the fabric that floatation in thedye beck has caused serious problems in obtaining proper dye results.Acrylic and olefin yarns now coming into general use aggravate thetendency of the fabric to float. On the other hand the problem iscomplicated by the fact that some of the synthetic fibers, particularlythe oleiins, are lso fragile at normal dyeing temperatures thatmechanical contact with any part of the dye equipment while su-bmergedmay cause serious dam-age and result in substantial seconds.

To overcome these serious disadvantages of piece dyeing, the presentinvention has for its primary object the modification of a carpet dyebeck which insures that the fabric is completely immersed in the dyebath at all times during the immersion portion of the dyeing cycle.

A further object of the invention is to provide various modificationsfor a dye beck w-hich can be utilized to maintain lfabric immersionwithout mechanical contact with the fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide driven means in a dyebeck `for maintaining immersion of a fabric where limited mechanicalcontact with the fabric in the dye bath is permissible.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means in a piecedye fabric kettle for preventing fabric gathering at the entrance zoneof the dye bath and means for assisting fabric removal at the exist zonethereby preventing damage and distortion of the fabric.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings inwhich FIGURE 1 is a -transverse section through a dye beck equipped withla preferred form of the present invention that utilizes no mechanicalcontact with the fabric,

FIGURE 2 is a section as seen at 2 2 of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective of one of the spray headers shown in FIGURES 1and 2,

3,301,026 Patented `Ian. 31, 1967 ICC FIGURE 4 is a sectional detail asseen at 4-4 of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sec-tion similar to FIG- URE 1 but showing amodification at the inlet and outlet zones,

FIGURE 6 is a transverse section through a piece dye kettle showing adifferent embodiment lfor maintaining the fabric immersed in the dyebath,

FIGURE 7 is a :section as seen at 7-7 of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 8 is a Ifragmentary sectional view similar to FIGURE 6 but usinga modification in the form of stationary rails,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary lsection as seen at '9-9 of FIGURE 8, and

FIGURE l0 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 in which the rollers are mountedeccentrically instead of concentrically.

In the preferred form of the present invention a conventional dye kettle15 has dye liquor sump 16 connected to conduits 17, 1S and is providedwith a relatively large driven cylinder or drum 19 mounted on shaft 20which carries lthe fabric F from a smaller guide roller 25 and depositsthe fabric into the dye bath or liquor at what is referred to herein asthe entrance or entering zone 26 generally adjacent the back of the dyebeck. The fabric F leaves the dye bath at the exit zone designated at 27where it is drawn upwardly over roller 25. The lid 2S is provided withdoors or closures 29 which are opened when the fabric is initiallyplaced around rollers 19 and 25 and then removed after the dyeing hasbeen completed. When dyeing in such a kettle a long roll of goods isstitched together after lacing over rollers 19 and 25 so that it is inthe form of an endless length during the dyeing process.

At approximately the height :of the liquid level in kettle 15 we providea pair of manifolds 30 and 31 (FIGURE 2) from which extend a series ofinterdigitated headers 32, 32 across substantially the width of the dyebeck. Each header is provided with elongated slots 33, '33 as shown inFIGURES 3 and 4 to achieve optimum spray effect. The dye liquor is drawnfrom the bottom :of the dye beck through conduits 17, 18 by means of apump 35 and discharged into the main header 36 which .is connected tomanifolds 30 and 31 through vertical conduits 37 and 38. Thisconstruction provides relatively even distribution for the discharge ofthe dye liquor at or near the surface of the dye bath in the kettle. Thedischarge orifices or slots 33 are directed to maintain a liquid currentbarrier through 'which the loose `folds of the fabric F in the dye `bathcannot pass during fabric travel through the lbath to the exit area 27.The first header 32a is of particular importance and may be providedwith somewhat different liquid discharge characteristics than theremaining headers. It is primarily the function of header 32a to preventgathering or folding of the fabric on the surface of a dye bath in zone26 and to maintain the fabric in la submerged condition until it haspassed under control of one or more of the remaining headers.Conversely, the direction of the slots 33, 33 in the last header 32b maybe so aligned or adjusted that they assist in breaking the surfacetension in the exit zone 27 .and likewise eliminate contact between thefabric and either the side of the dye kettle or the header itself. Inthis f-orm there is little or no mechanical contact between the fabricand any structure beneath the level of the dye liquor so that thepossibility of damage to the fabric during the dyeing procedure isminimized.

Depending upon the stability of the fabric, the material, and thetemperature of the dye bath, a modified form of dye kettle may be usedin which the kettle 15 is provided with a driven roller 4d (FIGURE 5)mounted transversely in the kettle below the liquid level in zone 26. Asimilar driven roller 41 may be used in zone 27 either with or withoutthe roller 40. The function of roller 40 is to prevent lapping orgathering of the fabric in area 26 at the surface of the liquor and toinsure complete immersion in this area. Similarly roller 41 may be usedto assist in the lifting of the fabric from the dye bath in area 27 toprevent or reduce any tendency for the fabric to stretch or distort atthis point. The peripheral speed of rollers 40 and 41 is regulated sothat contact With the fabric does not resut in damage thereto. Undersome circumstances the peripheral speed may be such that a water barriercan be created to Control the fabric movement without actual contact.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 7 a modified form of immersion control isshown in which a series of driven rollers 50, 50 is mounted in the dyebeck 15 at approximately the level of the dye liquor. All of the rollers50 are driven in a clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 6 so that thelower portions of their peripheries conduct the folds of the fabric Fthrough the dye bath from zone 26 to zone 27. The rollers are spacedclosely enough together so that the fabric will not be carried up inbetween any two of the rollers and out of the bath. In this form theremay Ibe ysome contact between the fabric and the rollers although theturbulence in the bath created by the rollers can be used to minimizecontact. The fabric emerges from the bath in Zone 27 over the lastroller 50a from which it passes directly to the driven cylinder 19.

The rollers 50, 50 in the form of FIGURES 6 and 7 are driven by means ofa motor 51 connected to a speed reducer and controller 52 which drivesroller 50a through chain 53 and sprockets 54 and 55. Each roller ismounted on a suitable support by -means of pillow blocks 56, 56 and theshafts 57 for each roller are provided with stuffing boxes 58, 58. Thedrive from roller 50a is transmited to the other rollers by means ofchains and sprockets 59, 59 and 60, 60 as shown clearly in FIGURE 7.

A still further modification which may be utilized under somecircumstances to insure complete fabric immersion is shown in FIGURES 8and 9. In this version the rollers 50', 50 of FIGURES 6 and 7 aregrooved or sectionalized to permit the mounting of baie plates or bars65, 65 across the dye kettle. The bars 65 are supported by means oftransverse rails 66, 66 from which they are adjustably suspended bymeans of hangers 67, 67 as shown in FIGURE 8. In this form theperipheral speed of the rollers may be substantially reduced since thefabric cannot pass upwardly between the rollers, and if desired theintermediate rollers between the entering roller 50b and the exit roller50a may be eliminated entirely.

A further modification which may be used to increase turbulence is shownin FIGURE in which the rollers 50", 50" are mounted eccentrically ontheir respective shafts 57, 57. With all of the rollers substantially inphase, a circulating current is up at the surface of the dye bath whichacts as a combined barrier and conveying means inducing the fabric totravel through the bath 4from zone 26 to the zone 27 at all times belowthe liquid surface and with a minimum of mechanical contact.

We have thus described an improved dye beck for the piece dyeing of pilefabrics such as floor coverings and the like in which the fabricregardless of its tendency to oat or to become damaged during the dyeingprocedure can be maintained beneath the level of the dye liquor.Depending upon the particular conditions encountered and the nature ofthe fabric, the dye beck may lbe constructed to provide no physicalcontact with the fabric or a limited physical Contact. The turbulenceand direction of current flow at the surface of the dye bathparticularly at the entrance and exit zones may be so regulated that thefabric is instantly and completely immersed at the entrance zone and isassisted when drawn out of the dye bath at the exit zone. The fabriccontrolling and deflecting means forming the essence of the presentinvention provides completely level dyeing for Kfabrics of low specificgravity and avoids physical damage to the fabric when in a softenedcondition due to elevated temperatures of the dye bath.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. In a dye beck assembly for piece dyeing endless lengths of fabrichaving a dye liquor kettle and means for circulating dye liquor into andout of the dye liquor kettle, the improvement which comprises meanspositioned adjacent the surface of the dye liquor for generating aliquid current barrier in the dye liquor adjacent the surface thereofand extending substantially over the area of the dye liquor between theentrance and exit zones of the fabric for maintaining a selected lengthof the fabric immersed in the dye liquor.

2. A dye beck assembly in accordance with claim 1 in which the liquidcurrent barrier generating means comprises manifold means and aplurality of discharge orifices in said manifold means for dischargingdye liquor into the dye bath under pressure.

3. A dye beck in accordance with claim 1 in which the liquid currentbarrier generating means comprises a plurality of driven rollers mountedtransversely in the kettle over the area of the dye liquor between theentrance and exit zones of the fabric.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 including at least `one drivenroller in the zone of fabric entrance into the dye liquor.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 including at least one drivenroller in the Zone of fabric exit from the dye liquor.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the manifold comprisestwo interdigitating headers extending transversely across the dyekettle.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which the headers haveelongated discharge orifices for the dye liquor.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which the rollers are in thesame horizontal plane.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which the rollers are mountedconcentrically.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which the rollers aremounted eccentrically.

11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which the rollers arejournaled in the sides of the dye kettle and have a single externalmotor and driving connections between each of the rollers.

12. A dye beck in accordance with claim 3 having a series of barssuspended beneath the surface of the dye liquor and extending from theentrance zone to the exit zone.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,663,177 12/1953Hanhart 68-177 X 2,702,464 2/1955 Bohm 68--184 X 3,016,728 1/1962 Mannet al 68-177 3,226,962 1/1966 Lincoln 68-177 3,231,908 2/1966 Kelen etal 68-177 FOREIGN PATENTS 912,447 5/ 1954 Germany.

947,541 8/1956 Germany.

671,970 5/ 1952 Great Britain.

IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A DYE BECK ASSEMBLY FOR PIECE DYEING ENDLESS LENGTHS OF FABRICHAVING A DYE LIQUOR KETTLE AND MEANS FOR CIRCULATING DYE LIQUOR INTO ANDOUT OF THE DYE LIQUOR KETTLE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES MEANSPOSITIONED ADJACENT THE SURFACE OF THE DYE LIQUOR FOR GENERATING ALIQUID CURRENT BARRIER IN THE DYE LIQUOR ADJACENT THE SURFACE THEREOFAND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE AREA OF THE DYE LIQUOR BETWEEN THEENTRANCE AND EXIT ZONES OF THE FABRIC FOR MAINTAINING A SELECTED LENGTHOF THE FABRIC IMMERSED IN THE DYE LIQUOR.